Honduras stun USA, Mexico held

United States' hopes of reaching the 2014 World Cup suffered a setback as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Honduras in the opening game of CONCACAF's final qualification stage.

Tottenham striker Clint Dempsey gave USA the upper hand in the 36th minute with a stunning volley that left Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares helpless.

But the hosts struck back just four minutes later as Maynor Figueroa found an unmarked Juan Carlos Garcia in the box and the defender tucked the ball away to level the scores at 1-1 before the break.

Honduras dominated possession and they took full advantage of a wasteful United States side when Jerry Bengtson buried the winner from close range to deliver his side all three points.
The USA received some consolation, though, as the other two matches in the group ended in stalemates.

Costa Rica fought from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw with Panama as Fulham striker Bryan Ruiz netted the decisive goal six minutes from time.

Panama started in blistering fashion as Luis Henriquez opened the scoring just 15 minutes into the match and Roman Torres doubled the hosts' lead shortly after.

But a lapse in concentration from Panama allowed Costa Rica to take momentum into half-time as Alvaro Saborio headed home a Christopher Meneses corner to reduce the deficit to one.

As Panama desperately attempted to grind out the result, Costa Rica's late flurry of pressure proved too much to handle with Ruiz breaking through to seal the comeback.

In the shock of the round, Mexico were held to a 0-0 draw by a lacklustre Jamaica outfit.

With Manchester United's Javier Hernandez at the point of their attack, Mexico offered plenty going forward, but they failed to capitalise on a number of defensive woes from the Jamaicans in the first half.

Hernandez had the best of his side's chances in the second half, although it was no avail as Mexico's 18-match winning streak at home came to an end.